New agreement leverages ACNielsen’s consumer insights, segmentation and targeting applications
BENTONVILLE, Ark., August 2, 2006 – Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. announced today that it has signed a new agreement designating ACNielsen as its sole provider of consumer panel services. This new agreement complements the Spectra segmentation and targeting applications that ACNielsen already provides to Wal-Mart and which the company supports with an extensive group of consumer and shopper insight experts based at its headquarters in Bentonville, Arkansas. Together, all of these services will help Wal-Mart tailor the merchandise assortments in its stores to the needs and shopping habits of each store’s customer base.
Stephen Quinn, Senior Vice President, Marketing, Wal-Mart said, “The partnership we are announcing with ACNielsen today enables Wal-Mart to gain valuable insights into shopping behavior, category dynamics and overall business activity. It will enable us to understand our customers better than ever before. And the better we understand our customers, the better equipped we will be to offer them the merchandise they want, when and where they want it.”
According to John Lewis, ACNielsen U.S. President & CEO, “This agreement deepens ACNielsen’s relationship with Wal-Mart and we look forward to supporting its new marketing thrusts. Our partnership will also enable Wal-Mart to collaborate with its vendor partners on the basis of actionable consumer insights, segmentation, and targeting applications,” Lewis said.
Wal-Mart will leverage the Homescan consumer panel which, as a result of ACNielsen’s commitment, has grown to 125,000 households in the U.S. This new and exciting agreement gives Wal-Mart access to ACNielsen’s Consumer & Shopper Insight applications, and the ability to create custom views of its shopper base. These applications provide a more actionable understanding of Wal-Mart’s shopper segments, along with the ability to reach these segments by leveraging Spectra’s new BehaviorScape store-by-store targeting applications. In addition, Wal-Mart will have access to broad capabilities within the Homescan consumer panel service that link attitudes, intended usage and media exposure to actual shopping and purchase behavior.
“These applications provide the most insightful, comprehensive and accurate reflection of U.S. consumers and shoppers in the industry today,” said Robert I. Tomei, President, ACNielsen Homescan & Spectra Global Business Unit. “The Homescan consumer panel, combined with Spectra’s leading targeting applications, allows us to develop unique and compelling integrated solutions around client business issues and opportunities.”
Stephen Quinn said, “We are very pleased to announce this new partnership. We look forward to working with ACNielsen to give everyone in our vast and diverse customer base a shopping experience that is tailored to their specific needs.”
About Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. operates Wal-Mart Stores, Supercenters, Neighborhood Markets and SAM’S CLUB locations in the United States. The company also operates in Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Germany, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico, South Korea and the United Kingdom. The company’s securities are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Arca, formerly the Pacific stock exchange, under the symbol WMT. More information about Wal-Mart can be found by visiting www.walmartfacts.com. Online merchandise sales are available at www.walmart.com and
www.samsclub.com.
About ACNielsen
ACNielsen, a VNU business, is the world’s leading marketing information provider. Offering services in more than 100 countries, the unit provides measurement and analysis of marketplace dynamics and consumer attitudes and behavior. Clients rely on ACNielsen’s market research, proprietary products, analytical tools and professional service to understand competitive performance, to uncover new opportunities and to raise the profitability of their marketing and sales campaigns.
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